Extracting Students’ Understanding of Kinetics and Thermodynamics for Reactions Involving Enolates

This communication extends on findings previously reported in which students were asked to construct Reaction Coordinate Diagrams (RCDs) de novo. Instead of asking students to construct RCDs, this study explores students’ understanding of kinetics and thermodynamics when provided with mechanisms for the Aldol and Claisen condensations with a specific focus on the key steps in the mechanisms. The findings include data from a cohort that received specific lecture content on kinetics and thermodynamics on these specific mechanisms compared to a cohort that did not receive specific instructions. The findings show that students associate kinetics and thermodynamics interchangeably by identifying the rate-determining step as associated with the less stable intermediate even after receiving specific instruction. The data associated with this particular analysis suggest that explicit instruction of this single reaction is not sufficient for proper analysis of the reactions. The notion that specific reactions can be memorized, thus, is invalid as it relates to these reactions. A more holistic understanding of kinetics and thermodynamics seems to be required for students to demonstrate a deep understanding of this specific reaction.